


Anti-Form

by Grey_Lark



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (if you squint), Anti-form, Dream Eater Riku (Kingdom Hearts), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Minor Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Post DDD, Pre KH3, but Riku's here, the sunshine child is sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22765333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grey_Lark/pseuds/Grey_Lark
Summary: Sora? No, it couldn’t be. But. Riku froze to watch. But, it looked so much like Sora.----------Riku sees anti-form and tries to comfort his friend.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54





	Anti-Form

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo, I wrote most of this one-shot back almost a year and half ago and thought I'd finish before KH3 came out. *insert Price is Right loser noise*. But I've been trying recently to actually dedicate time to writing, and thought I'd wrap this up even though its very short and I'm still not all that happy with it. But hopefully other people enjoy someone actually mentioning something about the fact that Sora routinely turns into a heartless version of himself. (Like come on, Goofy and Donald are even around for Rage form and say nothing- what the hell)

It was an easy mission. Some heartless in Radiant Gardens, simple shadows, but enough to get pass the security system and enough to warrant Riku and Sora reconnecting with Donald and Goofy for a training session after the exam. Sora had been ecstatic to see them- the few weeks back in Destiny Islands had itched beneath his skin, too many math classes and not enough adventures after years of fighting. Not to mention his recent failure in the Mark of Mastery exam had left him shaken. Riku had tried to talk to Sora, but his friend was resolutely adamant in applauding his success rather than talking about his own insecurities. He hoped time with Sora’s friends could help bolster his flagging confidence before Yen Sid and Mickey sent them out on their next mission. 

There were more heartless than expected, enough to be tiring but not enough for real concern, Riku thought. He was somewhat routinely slicing through heartless when it happened. A shout from Sora, a bright flash of light, and then silence. No garbled anger from Donald, no cheerful chuckles from Goofy, and most concerningly to Riku, no battle cries from Sora. The confusion registered, his blade cut through a heartless, and then he saw it. A darkened creature- Sora? No, it couldn’t be. But. Riku froze to watch. But, it looked so much like Sora. 

Shadows rose from the darkened form as it ripped through the remaining heartless. It was oddly silent as it moved, darting from enemy to enemy. Riku’s eyes widened as he watched the creature tear the heartless apart with only its hands- an ozone smell arising from the dark ink wisps that followed their end. The creature’s movements were jerky and disjointed as it jumped from enemy to enemy, its fluid four-legged loping gait jarring against the two-legged ferocity with which it dug into its prey. And then, there were no more heartless. Riku had not even noticed the lack of combatants, focused solely on this shadow wearing his friend’s form. But with nothing left to fight, two glowing yellow eyes turned towards him, and Riku felt his heart stutter briefly. 

Riku’s breath caught in his throat. He had never seen heartless fight each other, and he didn’t know if it was the presence of an opponent or the darkness that had triggered this shadow to fight. And if it was the later, Riku didn’t know if the darkness in his own heart was enough to enrage the creature. The figure inched closer, first on four limbs, then straightening out to two when it neared, head cocked curiously to the side. There was no sound as it moved, no patter of feet on the ground or brush of fabric, just eerie silence as it prowled closer. Riku’s hand tightened around his keyblade before relaxing. Shadow or not, this being wore Sora’s face, and while he may be known to engage in the friendly (and the admittedly sometimes less than friendly) spar there was no world in which he could attack his friend now. Not when he was in full control of his own facilities. And not seeing Sora in the full grips of the darkness after everything he had done to protect him.

So Riku held still as the creature neared him, breathing heavily through his nose as yellow eyes bore into his own. His heart pounded in his ears as the dark form eyed him warily, standing almost nose to nose with Riku. 

Riku swallowed heavily before uttering out in a shaky voice, “Sora?” 

The creature reared back, the lidless yellow eye seemingly widening before crouching back to four limbs to the ground. There was another flash of light and Donald and Goofy materialized, each with a loud shout, eyes scanning for enemies. Sora reappeared where the shadow had stood, ready for battle, but his keyblade lowered in confusion at the sudden lack of enemies. Finding no one left to fight he dismissed his blade, then ran a hand over his face, grimacing and staggering slightly as he came too. 

Sora refused to meet Riku’s searching gaze. 

Snapping back to attention, Sora plastered a smile to his face before saying, “Well, it looks like we’re done here. Let’s head back to the Committee’s headquarters to let them know it’s taken care of!”

While Donald and Goofy chattered as they made their way through he labyrinthine streets of Radiant Gardens, Sora was oddly quiet. Riku’s eyes flitted from Sora then away, not willing to make eye contact for too long. He had so many questions bubbling under his skin, each trying to force its way to his mouth where he swallowed them back down. 

Merlin’s house was empty when they reached it, the rest of the Restoration Committee still out dispatching the rest of the heartless. Donald and Goofy had been arguing on the way back, and kept that argument up as they sank into the seats in the middle of the room. Riku turned towards Sora, trying to search his face, while Sora pointedly looked away. 

“Hey, Sora. There was a duck back there selling ice cream- sea salt, I think? Want to grab some; it can be the icing on the cake after our win today?”

Sora visibly flinched. Riku’s mid sputtered for a moment, trying to connect dots he couldn’t even see. He attempted to back track, knowing on an instinctual level that whatever he said had somehow cross a line. “We don’t have to, of course. I just thought it might be nice to get out and let these two finish bickering?” Riku gestured to Donald and Goofy, who thankfully didn’t hear him judging from the lack of outraged squawking from the former.

Sora finally turned to look at him, smiling awkwardly. “No- no, that sounds great! I’m sorry, I don’t know why startled like that?” He chuckled lightly, hand resting on the back of his head before trailing off.

The walk back to the main square was awkward. Instead of Sora’s normal excited babble, Riku was met with silence and fleeting glances. Riku himself wasn’t much better, gaze focused ahead except for the occasional glance at his companion as he tried to organize his thoughts about the battle. He hated the tense quiet that was strangling them.

After some protest from Sora, Scrooge McDuck (that was a name, Riku thought to himself) gifted them free popsicles. Apparently, Sora’s world travels had inspired the duck to recreate the perfect sea salt ice cream, and he was excited to share this discovery with Sora. They eventually accepted the free ice cream, and Riku suggested they relocated to the Bailey’s outer wall to eat it. Sora agreed with a strained smile, which is how Riku found himself sitting next to Sora on top of the under-construction wall. Their legs dangled off the edge as they stared off over the barren wastelands that surrounded Radiant Gardens. While Radiant Gardens was, true to its name, a verdant city, Riku couldn’t help but wonder why the area around seemed devoid of life. Maybe it was due to this planet being recently restored? If so, what did the area outside their island look life? Maybe it was something else. Riku wasn’t paid enough (or at all) to worry about it, though. So far, he liked the residents, and Sora was particularly found of the Restoration Committee, and that was enough for Riku to deem the place worth protecting. 

They enjoyed their ice cream in silence for a bit before Riku hazard out, “So, are we going to talk about what happened today or are we just going to pretend you didn’t turn into a shadow version of yourself?” Strike straight and true, get it over with quickly.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Sora laughed, and brought an arm behind his head.

“Don’t! Don’t do that, Sora. I was there. I know what I saw.” Riku spit out, before taking a deep breath. He had spent his time in the darkness, he knew what it looked like. But his anger wouldn’t do any good here.

Sora looked out at the wasteland before them, ice cream forgotten as it dripped over his hand. His eyes were bright as he responded, not looking at his friend. “I told you Riku, the darkness got to me too” Sora whispered with a watery smile. He let out a thick, muddled laugh, before he continued, “Sometimes there’s just this overwhelming sadness inside me and I try to tell myself it’s just Roxas’, but I know- I know that it’s me and my stupid, messed-up heart. There are so many people depending on me, so many people I need to be strong for, and I can’t even keep the darkness away from myself!”  
Riku’s heart lurched. To him, Sora was the embodiment of everything light- everything good. He hadn’t known this doubt, this darkness, was harbored within his heart. It was selfish, Riku realized, to think that someone had no darkness in their heart, to think that they could be the unflinching pillar of light in his life. But he didn’t want Sora to deny his own darkness to please him. Darkness he knew, intimately well, and he knew what he would want to hear. “You don’t need to keep the darkness away from yourself, not own your own. I’m here. I’ll fight for you, if you’ll let me.” He meant every word, every sentiment, deep in his soul. He would always fight until his last breath to keep Sora safe.

Sora barely choked back a sob. “Are you sure?”

“Of course, I’m your dream eater, aren’t I?” Riku said with a halfhearted chuckle before his face became more serious. “But truly, I am here for you, Sora. I’m your friend and whatever you need, I’ll do it. Kairi too. You know she would do anything for you and I’m pretty sure Donald and Goofy have adopted you a little bit.” Sora let out a wet laugh and shakily smiled at Riku. Tentatively, Riku reached out for his hand, brushing lightly over the knuckles before taking it with in his own. When Sora didn’t pull his hand away he gently squeezed it. “Whatever you need, Sora. If you just want to vent at someone, I’m here. If you want someone to commiserate about the darkness with, I’m here. If you want someone to call you out and kick your ass into gear, I . . . can get Kairi.” Sora, who had been inching closer to Riku throughout the conversation, let out another choked out laugh before resting his head against Riku’s shoulder.

“Yheah, she’s always been there to whip us into shape, huh?” Sora remarked with a weak laugh, pressing against Riku’s side. 

“She’s a fighter, and so are you.” Riku replied as he rested his cheek on the spikey brown hair. Softer, than he would have thought. “Sora, you don’t have to do this alone. You’re always saying how your friends are you power, so let us help. Just, talk to us, and if that seems impossible, just find us. Sit with us. We all love you. So much.” Riku hid his face completely in Sora’s hair. “I just want you to be safe and happy.”

“I am Riku, really I am” Sora reassured him, face digging into his shoulder, and clutching his hand. “Just sometimes, though, it just all comes crashing down and it’s too much.” 

“Then we’ll be here, to pick you back up again. There’s always a light, Sora- you taught me that. Let us be the light.”

Sora pressed even closer, sobbing into his shirt. But Riku didn’t mind. The two boys sat, intertwined around each other, watching the sun set in a lush city overlooking a wasteland.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
